FILE PHOTO: A multi-sided transformable board, which advertises the campaign of Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of the upcoming presidential election, is on display in a street in Moscow, Russia January 15, 2018. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian Interior Ministry warned on Thursday it would harshly suppress any violations of the law at planned pre-election opposition protests, the RIA news agency reported on Thursday.

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny is organizing a series of rallies across Russia on Jan. 28 to press home his call for a boycott of a March 18 presidential election he has been barred from running in.